Of The Heavens
by clefaerie
Summary: 'You're my love,' Scorpius whispered. 'My light. You're my heaven and Earth and everything in between. You're brighter than each glittering star, more beautiful than the night sky. And I love you.' / Scorpius Malfoy is comfortable living in a Muggle town and having a Muggle job—but an unexpected reunion with Scorpius' ex-girlfriend Rose brings life-changing news.
1. The Letter

Scorpius Malfoy was a lawyer, and a damn good one at that. His job could be challenging, and at times, overwhelming; but he loved it. He never minded having to wake up at the crack of dawn to be at the firm on time (that was what coffee was for, right?). He never minded the workload or the hours, and he didn't even care that his secretary had stopped blowing him since she'd gotten engaged. No, all Scorpius cared about was that he was helping to better people's lives.

Well, mostly. The pay checks weren't so bad either.

It was a Friday evening when Scorpius' life would be thrown upside down. The blond was finishing up in his office at the Wright & Ashby Legal Firm—filing the day's last papers, checking his emails one last time, dismissing his secretary, Julia—utterly oblivious, of course, to the fact that within the next few hours everything would change for good.

When all of his important lawyerly duties had been completed, Scorpius made his way out to his car, saying goodbye to his colleagues as he went.

'Later, Malfoy!' called Bannerman as she gathered a pile of papers together to file.

'See you on Monday,' chirped Sharpe from his desk, face hidden behind the computer.

'Don't party too hard!' Alcorn jested as he sipped coffee from a Styrofoam cup.

The traffic on the way home was lighter than usual, strangely enough. Fridays were usually the heaviest days in terms of road congestion. As he drove, Scorpius tried to decide what he would do that weekend. He didn't have too much work to do before Monday. Since his fling with Julia had ended, Scorpius had had more time to focus on his work … Although, sometimes it was difficult to concentrate, especially when she was in his office.

Perhaps he could see her this weekend… No, no, that wouldn't do. She wouldn't be happy with Scorpius if her fiancé found out that he was contacting Julia outside of work.

Well, maybe he could visit his parents; he hadn't seen them in a long time. No, he couldn't do that, either. Scorpius' father had exiled him after he had taken an interest in the Muggle world, and so he had found no other choice but to move out of the Manor, much to his mother's distress, and into a Muggle home in a Muggle neighbourhood. Although his mother occasionally wrote, Scorpius had barely heard from his father since he moved away some three years ago.

What else was there to do, Scorpius wondered. He had been invited to an outing at a nightclub with some of his colleagues, but he had declined, telling them that he had a date. Scorpius didn't particularly care for Muggle nightclubs—they were sweaty and smelly and loud. Why bother? Besides, Scorpius could get a date if he wanted to. He decided that he might contact one of his female suitors for coffee or dinner, and perhaps even an … _adult _sleepover. Yes, that would do.

It didn't take long for Scorpius to pull into the driveway of his small, but comfortable, home on Pomegranate Way. He made his way into the house, keys jingling as he locked the car, and closed the front door. He made his way into the bedroom as he did every day after work, and pulled off his tie. He unbuttoned his shirt and laid it neatly at the foot of his bed. He took off his shoes, put them away, and dropped his socks into the laundry hamper beside his wardrobe.

After changing into some tracksuit bottoms, Scorpius fixed himself a drink at the bar and sat down on the couch, clicking on the television. As he watched the screen and sipped from his glass, there was a knock at the door. Scorpius huffed impatiently—he'd just gotten comfortable!—but rose from his spot to answer it.

When he opened the front door, the Freeman's teenaged daughter from across the street smiled up at him. 'Hello, Mister Malfoy,' she said, discreetly eyeing his shirtless torso.

'Oh, Kimberly,' he replied, softening. 'Hello. What can I do for you?'

The young girl gazed up at him, doe eyed, smiling sweetly. In her hands, she held an envelope. 'This letter was in front of our door when I came home today. It's for you.' She stretched her arm slightly, offering Scorpius the envelope.

He took it from her, looking down at the address. He supposed it was from his mother. His name was written on the front in elegant script; although, it was different to Mrs Malfoy's handwriting. 'Thank you,' Scorpius said to the girl. 'You say this was in front of your door?'

'Yes,' Kimberly nodded. 'Curious, isn't it? I wonder why the postman didn't just put it in the letterbox with the rest of the mail.'

'Curious,' Scorpius repeated, bobbing his head once. 'Thank you for bringing it to me.'

'Of course,' said Kimberly, offering a flirtatious smile. 'Well, I'd better get going. Goodbye, Mister Malfoy!'

Scorpius held a hand up to the teenager to say goodbye and closed the front door, staring down at the envelope. It was sealed with a small spatter of red wax. He took the envelope into the living room and sat down. After taking a sip from his drink, he opened it.

_Dear Scorpius, _it read.

_I hope you'll forgive me for writing to you after such a long time. If I may be bold, I certainly haven't forgotten about you in the three years that we have been apart._

_I will be in town from the 13__th__ of April for seven days, and I was hoping that we could meet somewhere to catch up. Surely there is somewhere near you that we could go—perhaps a coffee shop? I've heard from Grandpa that those are quite popular amongst the Muggles. Is that true? Grandpa has great knowledge about the Muggle world, but I would love to hear more about it from someone who lives it._

_I understand that you might be busy, but I would very much like to see you. If you are free, please let me know which date best suits you and we can arrange a time and place to meet. Thank you._

_Kind regards,  
>Rose Weasley<em>

Scorpius' stomach twisted. He put the letter aside and immediately began writing to his old friend from Hogwarts, Philip Zabini. The date with a pretty girl who fancied him could wait.

'What do you think she means?' Scorpius asked, looking down at the letter in his hands.

Zabini, who was craning his neck around, watching Muggles as they milled about the café, turned his attention to Scorpius. He stared at him, seemingly dumbfounded by his question. 'Well, let's see,' he said sarcastically. 'She said that she's going to be in town, and that she wants to see you… You're right. What could that _possibly_ mean?'

'Shut up, mate,' Scorpius said. 'I just mean like, why would she want to meet up with me after all this time? We didn't exactly end on good terms. I'm sure you'll remember the large book she threw at me. I haven't heard a word from her in three years.'

Zabini shrugged. 'Maybe she wants closure,' he suggested.

'After three years?' Scorpius asked sceptically. 'Do you think she misses me?'

Zabini's reply was interrupted as a waitress approached the table, a plate of cake in her hand. 'Pumpkin spice cheesecake?' Scorpius gestured towards Zabini, and the waitress laid the plate in front of him. Scorpius watched his friend as he picked up the fork and shovelled the cheesecake into his mouth like it was the most heavenly thing he had ever tasted.

'Well?' Scorpius pressed.

'This is really good,' Zabini mumbled through a mouthful of cake.

'Hello? Rose? Do you think she misses me?'

Zabini swallowed the mouthful. 'I don't know, I guess so. Why else would she be asking to see you?'

Scorpius placed his hand in front of his mouth, using his fingers to discreetly block his smile from Zabini's view—not that he was paying attention anyway. 'So … so do you think she wants to, like … start dating again? God—I mean, Merlin… What would I say to her? We haven't spoken since I left home. I mean, not that that's her fault. But still, I—are you even listening to me?' Scorpius tapped his friend on the shoulder, drawing his attention.

'Can I finish this, please?' he snipped.

'Can you not eat and listen at the same time? What's wrong with you?'

Zabini rolled his eyes. 'Fine,' he said. 'You were always so impatient.'

'Do you think I should write back to Rose tonight?' Scorpius asked.

'Why not?'

'And you think I should say yes, right?'

Zabini put the fork down on the empty dessert plate with an audible 'clink'. 'If you want to see her again.'

'Of course I want to see her again,' Scorpius said.

'Well, how am I to know that? Do you think I'm a mind reader?'

'Well you always did enjoy Divination at Hogwarts,' Scorpius pointed out.

'Divination and mindreading are two different things, Malfoy,' Zabini smirked. 'That shows how much you know.'

'Hey, watch it,' the blond warned, 'or I'll tell your father you were here.'

Suddenly, Zabini's expression changed into panic, despite knowing that this was Scorpius' humour. '_Don't even joke about that_,' he hissed. 'Do you have _any _idea what my father would do to me if he found out I was here?' Zabini shuddered at the thought.

'I know,' Scorpius said quietly. 'I appreciate you coming here despite that. I just didn't know what to think about this letter, and I thought you'd be the best person to ask.'

Zabini sighed softly.

'Thank you for your help,' Scorpius said. He shook his head. 'Man, I miss the old days.'

'Me too, mate. Me too.'


	2. Waiting

_Rose,_

_I was surprised at receiving your letter, though glad; hearing from you is never unpleasant. I have not forgotten about you, either._

_Of course, I was happy to hear that you will be in town. Concerning your visit, I would be delighted to meet with you on Saturday the 14__th__ of April, or Sunday the 15__th__ of April—unfortunately I work long hours Monday through to Friday._

_Forgive me, but do you have a place to stay? If not, you are welcome to stay at my home for the duration of your visit. I hope my suggestion is not too brazen._

_I look forward to hearing back from you._

_Sincerely,  
>Scorpius Malfoy<em>

Scorpius read through the letter and scrunched his nose. He read through it again, running a hand through his blond mane. He read through it a third time, and then a fourth. Scorpius reread the letter until the words no longer made sense. When he read it, he sounded so … eager. Of course, he _was _eager, but he didn't want to be so obvious about it. Was he? Oh, probably, but it would have to do. He had already written and rejected at least seven other letters.

Scorpius folded the letter neatly and slipped it into an envelope, scribbling Rose's name and address onto the front. With each letter that spilled from his pen, Scorpius grew more nervous, only it was a nice kind of nervous—like, an excited kind of nervous. He had never cared for any other girl half as much as he cared about Rose, as embarrassingly cliché as it sounded. He had so many fond memories of her from their days at Hogwarts; how he missed it. He remembered that they would always lay together on the grass, watching the clouds go by, talking about the day they would move in together.

They continued dating after graduation, but, of course it was more difficult this way. The distance was horrid; after spending every day together at Hogwarts, they were suddenly in a situation that made it difficult to even speak to one another. They exchanged letters when they could, but they both had to be careful about it. While their mothers were at least civil to each other, Mister Malfoy and Mister Weasley made no secret of despising each other. Additionally, Rose's father had never approved of Scorpius, which he suspected was a product of his history with his own father.

There were so many things that seemed to go against their relationship, and so they broke up. Feeling sick to his stomach, Scorpius had made his way to Rose's house while her parents were out. And, despite every fibre of his being screaming in protest, fervid with love for the girl standing before him, he broke up with her. He told her that he was leaving the Manor, so she took a great, hulking book from her bookshelf and threw it at him. Scorpius was surprised she could lift it, let alone hurl it. His shin was purple for weeks.

While no one knew this, however—not even Zabini was aware—Rose and Scorpius had met up again a few weeks later. It was the day before Scorpius planned to move out of the Manor. Rose had begged him to let her come, but he told her no, that her father would never forgive her if she left home at nineteen to live in a Muggle neighbourhood with someone he hated. He made her promise that she would stay.

'I'm going to miss you,' she had told him in response. He couldn't reply, because he felt like if he opened his mouth and tried to speak, he would cry. So he held her, blinking hard, head resting against hers, and tried not to think that this might be the last time he would see her. Half an hour later, they hadn't spoken or moved. Scorpius wished he could stay there all day, but it was at that moment that he heard the voices of Rose's parents downstairs. He got up from the bed.

'I have to go,' he whispered. They shared a kiss, and then was gone—apparated back to the Manor. They wouldn't see each other again for—well, they both assumed they'd never see each other again. But now, of course, it would be three years.

So, Scorpius had to wonder what could have led Rose to write to him after all this time. He looked down at the envelope between his thumb and forefinger. Perhaps seeing Rose again after all this time wasn't such a good idea after all… but she _had _written to him first… No, he would send the letter when he next got the chance. He couldn't ignore his ardent desire to see her again.

**X**

As the next couple of weeks passed, Rose and Scorpius exchanged letters frequently, trying to organise a suitable time and place for the two to meet. Rose had informed Scorpius that she would be staying at a small inn not far from his home, run by an elderly witch named Wynona. Scorpius had never noticed this inn before, although perhaps he had never passed it.

Whenever he thought about seeing Rose again, Scorpius felt the familiar excited nervousness. He felt as if his stomach was being twisted, but at the same time it was as though his chest was filling up. It felt strange.

In the week leading up to the 14th of April, Scorpius found it exceedingly difficult to focus at work. By Friday, he was fidgety and distracted, always checking the time, wondering if Rose had arrived at the inn yet. Julia seemed to notice this. After noon, she brought him some warm tea in his favourite mug. He looked up as she placed it on the desk.

'What is this?' he asked, gesturing to the mug.

'It's tea, sir,' Julia said, holding her hands in front of her. 'You seem a little unsettled today, if I may say so. I thought you might like a pick-me-up.'

She smiled sweetly, and Scorpius hesitantly reached for the mug's handle. He thanked her and took a sip, then placed it back down on the desk and returned to clacking away at his keyboard. Julia did not move.

'Do you need something?' he asked after a moment, not peering up from his computer screen.

'Are you alright, Mister Malfoy?' Julia asked.

Once again, he stared up at her. 'I suppose—I mean yes, yes. I'm fine. Thank you.'

'Is there anything you'd like to talk about?'

'I appreciate your concern, Julia,' Scorpius told her, 'but I'm okay. I just didn't sleep very well last night, that's all.'

'Are you stressed?' Julia pressed.

'No, nothing like that. I just couldn't fall asleep. Perhaps I had too much caffeine.'

The butterscotch-haired secretary nodded, looking down at the mug of tea. 'If you need anything, please let me know.' She turned and left his office.

Scorpius eyed her as she left, and turned back to his computer when she closed the door. Usually when he watched Julia walk out of his office, he imagined bending her over his desk; today, his mind was too preoccupied to think about such things.

He looked at the mug of tea sitting by his keyboard, and seemed to become lost in thought. Some time later—was it five minutes? Ten?—Alcorn rapped his knuckles against the door of Scorpius' office. Unsure of how long he'd been daydreaming, Scorpius beckoned his workmate inside.

'Alright, Malfoy?' he asked.

Scorpius nodded, 'I must have zoned out. What's up?'

'There's going to be a big party this weekend at Dave Morrison's place—you remember Dave, right? From that family law firm, he worked with us on the Atkins case. Anyway, he's trying to keep it on the down low, but I'm sure he won't mind if I invite a couple of guys from here.' Alcorn leaned against the door frame.

Scorpius breathed a laugh. 'That sounds good,' he said, 'but I'm actually meeting an old friend this weekend. We went to school together, I haven't seen her in years.'

'Oh, _her_?' Alcorn perked up. 'Is she hot?'

'Shut up, mate,' Scorpius warned jestingly.

'You can bring her,' Alcorn suggested.

The blond smiled and told him that he would think about it and get back to him. Scorpius thanked him for the offer, and he winked and closed the office door.

**X**

Finally, the end of the day came. Scorpius locked up his office and said goodbye to the other Wright & Ashby lawyers. Often the days seemed to whiz by, but today had moved so slowly. Saturday could not come quick enough.

Scorpius drove home, changed clothes, fixed himself a drink, made dinner. He went on with his night as he usually did, his mind not once straying from thoughts of Rose.


	3. Celestia

It took Scorpius a few moments to remember what day it was when he woke up the next morning. It was half past eight, though he normally woke up at least an hour and a half earlier on weekdays—to wake up at this time was a rather lengthy sleep-in for him. Even though Scorpius wanted to leap out of bed like a child on Christmas morning, he forced himself to lay there for a moment or two. He didn't want to seem _too _eager, even though there was no one around to judge.

When he began to feel restless, Scorpius hopped out of bed and made his way to the kitchen and made himself a strong cup of coffee and two pieces of toast for breakfast, just like every other morning. He munched on it slowly, trying to take up as much time as possible. Scorpius and Rose had organised to meet at a large family park in his neighbourhood at eleven.

'There's no lake there, right?' Rose had asked, and he had told her no, though he didn't remember getting an answer when he asked her why. Perhaps she had skimmed over the question accidentally whilst reading through his letter. She _did _read awfully quickly—compared to Scorpius, anyway. It must have been something that she inherited from her mother.

By the time Scorpius had finished his breakfast, there was still two hours until he had to be at the park. What on Earth was he going to do for two hours? It wouldn't take him long to get ready—all he had to do was choose something to wear and take a shower. Perhaps he would do some housework while he waited. The floors hadn't been swept in some time.

Scorpius got up from the table and washed his dishes in the sink, making sure to take his time. He dried the dishes and put them away, and then began to tidy. Often, Scorpius would bewitch his cleaning supplies and do some work for the firm while his house was being cleaned, but as he wanted to pass the time today, he decided to do it himself. Scorpius hated cleaning. He didn't understand how Muggles did it without magic, getting all sweaty and puffed out.

Scorpius tidied things away, wiped down the counter tops and the kitchen table, dusted the blinds, swept and mopped the floors, vacuumed the carpet, and scrubbed the bathroom basin. By the time he was finished, he felt grungy and sweaty—and he only had half an hour left before he had to be at the park. It was still more time than he needed, but at least he didn't have to feel like he was sitting around waiting for hours.

After a quick stop to the bedroom to pick out his clothes (he decided on a casual button down shirt and trousers—a smart, but not dressy, look), Scorpius made his way to the bathroom and showered. Six minutes later, he was dressed and ready to go. He checked his watch, and groaned, with over twenty minutes to wait. Scorpius decided to just _go_. What good was sitting around the house, twiddling his thumbs?

He grabbed his keys and, slipping his wallet into the pocket of his trousers, Scorpius climbed into his car—no, he would walk instead. If he drove, it would take no more than five minutes to reach the park. If he walked, it would take him at least fifteen minutes. Besides, it was a lovely day out. He strode back inside to place his keys on the end table by the door.

'Hello, Mister Malfoy,' came a syrupy-sweet voice from behind him. Scorpius closed the front door and turned to see Kimberly Freeman standing, hands folded behind her back, gazing up at him.

'Hello, Kimberly,' Scorpius said pleasantly, although he hoped she wouldn't stick around too long, quite honestly.

'Nice morning, isn't it?' Kimberly said.

'It is,' Scorpius agreed. 'What are you doing out so early? You're a teenager. Shouldn't you be asleep?' he added teasingly.

Kimberly giggled. 'I've just been for a walk and I noticed that you were outside. I thought I'd say hello. Are you going for a walk, too?'

'Yes, actually. I'm meeting an old friend from school,' he informed her.

'You've never talked about your high school days,' Kimberly pointed out.

'Yes, well, what's to tell?' Scorpius said quickly. He looked at his watch, pretending he was late. 'Oh, goodness. I'd best be off. Enjoy your day, Kimberly.'

'You too, Mister Malfoy.'

**X**

The park was quieter than usual, although perhaps it was because it was still quite early. Scorpius supposed that more people would come after noon. It was only a small park, with a few trees here and there, a park bench or two, and a little playground in the centre. Scorpius ambled down the pavement and sat down on the park bench closest to the playground, where two young children were playing. They slid down the slide and chased each other across the bitumen and swung on the swings—the younger of the two crying when he was beaten to the 'big kid' swing.

Scorpius watched them run around and play, bright smiles on their chubby little faces. A thin woman with kinked brunette hair watched them from the edge of the bitumen. Her arms were folded over her chest, but she didn't seem angry. Scorpius decided that she must have been the children's mother. He became so wrapped up in watching the Saturday morning scene that he didn't notice Rose approaching him.

'Scorpius,' she said softly, suddenly beside him, and he started, practically jumping to his feet.

He turned to face her, stomach twisting. When he saw her face, his mind flooded with memories of Hogwarts and his chest filled with warmth. Rose looked almost exactly the same as she had when they had last seen each other, three years ago. She stood before him, waves of ginger cascading down her back. Rose had often talked about wanting to change her hair colour, but here she was—still ginger. Still pale-skinned, still chubby, still bright-eyed. Still breath-takingly beautiful. The only difference that Scorpius noticed was the young girl standing beside Rose, her tiny hand wrapped in Rose's palm.

'Hello,' Scorpius said, suddenly flustered. 'Hi. Oh my goodness—I mean—sorry, hello. How are you?'

Rose offered a gentle smile. 'Hello, Scorpius,' she said. 'I'm very well, thank you.'

Scorpius looked down at the little girl, bending down slightly. She was barely higher than Scorpius' knee. 'And who is this?' he asked.

The little girl looked up at him. Her thick, golden hair had been braided and rested against her chest. Her cheeks and nose were adorned with freckles, and her eyes were a clear baby blue.

'This,' Rose said, 'is Celestia. My daughter. Celestia, say hello.'

'You're S… Sorpus,' she said, sounding quite matter-of-fact, despite not being able to say his name properly.

Rose chuckled lightly and corrected the young girl, encouraging her to try again. 'Sc... Sorpi… Sorpus,' she said.

Scorpius smiled, but his mind raced. Rose had a daughter? Since when? And with who? Was she dating someone? Was she married? Was the father even in the picture anymore? Why on Earth would Rose want to see Scorpius if she was married, or dating someone? And if she _was _with someone, where was he? Was he here? He was probably back at the inn. Was he a Muggle? Where had she met him? Was this a family vacation?

'How are you?' Rose asked.

'Oh, good,' Scorpius replied, forcing a polite smile. 'Were there any problems travelling here?'

'Not at all,' Rose said. 'Celestia loved the train ride, although she did get a bit restless towards the end. And you know, I just can't get the hang of this Muggle money! Of course, I asked Grandpa before I left, but the taxi driver asked me for 'twenty pounds' and it took me about ten minutes to give him what he wanted. Quite embarrassing. Celestia, why don't you go and play?'

The little girl skipped off, without a word of argument, towards the playground. She climbed up onto the platform and approached the two little boys, who seemed to invite her to play with them almost immediately. To Scorpius' surprise, Rose reached out and wrapped her arms around him in a hug—fleeting, as if she didn't want it to seem like she missed him _too _much. He hugged her back fondly.

Rose pulled back after a moment and looked up at Scorpius. 'Are you alright?' she asked. 'You seem a little flustered.'

'Yes, of course,' Scorpius said. 'It's just… well—' _You have a child! You have a daughter and it's weird! _'—I haven't seen you in such a long time, that's all.'

'Isn't it strange?' Rose replied. 'You've changed so little. Say, do you mind if we sit?'

They took a seat on the park bench.

'How's your work going? What is it you do again? Law, isn't it?'

Scorpius nodded. 'I'm a criminal lawyer. Work is going well, thank you. I never thought I'd enjoy it so much, to be honest. When I first left home, I thought I had made a huge mistake, entering the Muggle world. But of course, I couldn't turn around and go back to the Manor; my father wouldn't have allowed it. It was worth it, though—is that horrible to say?'

'No,' Rose assured him, 'you did what you had to do.'

'How is Magizoology treating you?'

'Oh, it's great. Lately I've taken quite an interest in Jobberknolls,' Rose said, watching as Celestia ran around the playground with the other children. 'I've been thinking of moving to Estonia to study them in greater depth, but I couldn't do that to Celestia. To take her away from the family at such a young age…'

'How old is she?' Scorpius questioned, trying to pretend that he hadn't been bursting to ask about the little girl.

Rose pursed her lips. 'She's three,' she said after a lengthy pause.

'Three,' Scorpius repeated. He tried to make it sound like a question, although it came out of his mouth as a statement.

Rose nodded, glancing at Scorpius cautiously. 'Three,' she said again. 'That's actually why we came here. I thought that it might be time for Celestia to, uh… meet her father.'


	4. Let's Handle This Like Adults

Rose watched Scorpius carefully, waiting for his response. He hadn't said anything since she had arrived at his house almost twenty minutes ago. After breaking the news so abruptly, Rose thought it might be a good idea to take Celestia back to the inn, leaving her in the hands of Dawn—friend of Rose and nanny to the little girl—so that she and Scorpius could discuss the situation.

They sat at the dining table opposite each other, and although Rose stared at Scorpius, he held his gaze downwards. His fingers were intertwined and pressed against his lips as he tried to come to terms with the news. A hundred questions zipped through his mind. How could he have a child? How could _they _have a child? Why hadn't Rose told him? And what was going to happen now that she had?

'I haven't told her, either,' Rose said finally, breaking the silence.

Scorpius looked up. From behind his hands, he mumbled, 'Well, at least I'm not the only one who wasn't informed.' His tone was bitter.

'I know this is all happening quite suddenly,' the redhead admitted, leaning back in her chair. She scratched her forehead and then linked her hands together on the table in front of her.

'Why on _Earth _would you keep this from me?' he spat.

'I wrote you so many letters, Scorpius,' Rose shook her head, 'but I could never gather the courage to send them. I never quite knew how exactly to put it.'

'How about, _"Hey, I'm pregnant—it's yours!"_' Scorpius replied sarcastically, eyeing Rose heatedly.

'I _tried_,' Rose retorted. 'It wasn't just trying to write to you, though. It was… well, what if you'd gotten my letter and decided you didn't want a baby? That you didn't care about her, or about me? What if you'd moved on?'

'That's a chance you should have taken, Rose,' the blond said, trying to keep his voice low. He ran a hand through his hair and exhaled.

'Well, what if you _did _decide that you wanted to help me raise her? We were nineteen, you had been kicked out. We had no money for our own home, and Merlin knows you and Dad couldn't have lived in the same home.'

'Did you never think about moving here?' he asked, his jaw stiff with anger.

'No,' Rose replied. 'I couldn't take her away from our world, my family.'

'I'm her _father_, Rose!' Scorpius barked. '_I'm _her family!'

'You may be her father, Scorpius, but I'm her mother,' Rose snapped back. 'And she may have gone three years without you—'

'Whose fault is that?'

'—_but _she spent those three years with her mother and her grandparents and her aunts and uncles and cousins and her great aunts and uncles. She grew up surrounded by family who adored her.'

Scorpius said nothing. He seemed to be willing his mouth to stay shut.

'And what if I _had _come to live here with you, Scorpius, and it hadn't worked it?' Rose pointed out. 'What then? Look, I'm sorry that I didn't tell you about Celestia, but we've given her a good life and happy memories.'

'What did you ever tell her when she asked about her father?' Scorpius questioned as he crossed his arms over his chest.

'Well, nothing. I mean, she's never really asked before,' Rose said, glancing at Scorpius and quickly adding, 'too young, I suppose. Listen, Scorpius, I'm here because you have the right to know about your daughter, and because I want only the best for her. If you don't want to be a part of her life, then fine, but if you do, we need to figure out how this is going to work.'

'I do,' Scorpius mumbled, looking down at his hands.

'Then let's handle this like adults,' Rose responded. 'We'll need to discuss living arrangements and visitations. You'll need to learn all about her dietary requirements and her likes and dislikes, and how to baby-proof your home, of course, and—'

'Whoa!' Scorpius exclaimed, causing Rose to pause. 'You want to talk about all that _now_?'

Rose shrugged. 'Why not?'

'Am I allowed to get to know her a little bit first?' the blond asked gruffly.

'Oh—yes, of course. Sorry,' Rose said as if she'd completely forgotten that Scorpius had never met the little girl before. 'Well, this week would be a prime opportunity to spend some time with her. What are some child-friendly activities to do around here? What do Muggle families like to do?'

'Well, there are a few things,' Scorpius began. 'The zoo isn't too far, and the aquarium is—wait, what? This week? Rose, I can't spend time with her this week. I told you before you came here that I work all day, every day. I can't just take a whole week off.'

'Are you telling me that you'd rather have a little extra money than spend time with your three-year-old daughter?' Rose snipped.

'Excuse me,' Scorpius bit back. 'I didn't even know I _had _a daughter a few hours ago. Give me a break, would you? I'm telling you that there is no way I'll be allowed to take a whole week away from the firm, Rose.'

Rose rolled her eyes, as though refusing to miss work made Scorpius irresponsible. 'Well, we're leaving on Friday, so you'll either have to take time off work or come and visit us in your own time.'

'I'll talk to my boss,' Scorpius sighed, 'but I can't promise you anything, and I don't appreciate you trying to manipulate me into spending time with Celestia. You can't guilt-trip me if I can't get any time off, alright?'

Rose pursed her lips and apologised sheepishly. 'So I suppose Celestia and I will be seeing you tomorrow, then?'

'I'll treat you two to lunch. Is that alright?'

Rose nodded in agreement, pushing her fingers through her hair and smiling politely.

'What does she like?' he asked. 'There's a charming little café a few minutes from here, or we could go to Pancake House or McDonald's, or—'

'What's McDonald's?' Rose asked, tugging on the sleeves of her pink knitted jumper, which Scorpius imagined was a gift from her grandmother Molly.

'Oh.' Scorpius remembered that there was no McDonald's in the Wizarding World. 'It's a fast food restaurant. You know, chips and burgers and nuggets, that sort of thing.'

Rose wrinkled her nose and hummed in thought. 'I'm not sure about that. What about that Pancake House place? That sounds nice. Do they have proper lunches as well as Pancakes? Do they have waffles? Celestia _loves _waffles, especially with pumpkin compote.'

'They have proper lunches, yes, and they have waffles.' Scorpius raised an eyebrow. 'I highly doubt that they have pumpkin compote, though. Muggles don't seem to be as fond of pumpkins as folks in the Wizarding World. I've never seen a pumpkin pasty in a supermarket here.'

'Really?' Rose asked, her eyes widening in interest. 'Weird! Well, nonetheless, pancakes sound nice. It's a date, then.'

**X**

'Mummy, can I have this one?' Celestia asked, pressing a chubby little finger to the menu beside a picture of a pancake stack called _Chocolate Delight_—buttermilk pancakes with ice cream scoops, chocolate sauce, whipped cream _and _sprinkles.

'You most certainly cannot, young miss,' Rose scolded, looking over the top of her menu. 'Choose something suitable for lunch, please. Here, what about this one?'

The little girl huffed dramatically and her mother smiled. Adjacent to her, Scorpius skimmed over his menu, feeling rather awkward. He had never even spoken to a three-year-old before, let alone _fathered _one. It was a very strange feeling, too, knowing that the tiny person sitting opposite him came from his—uh, came from him.

'I have to say, Scorpius, I've never heard of some of these before,' Rose said in an attempt to make the situation more comfortable. 'What in Merlin's name is a _crepe_? I might have to ask you to choose something for me, I'm afraid.'

Scorpius' eyes flicked through the menu as he tried to pick something that might sound appealing to Rose. He settled on a BLT and suggested it to her.

'Mummy, I want ice cream. Why can't I have the chocolate one?'

Boy, this kid seemed like a nag.

'Celestia, that's enough,' Rose warned. 'You need to eat something proper before you're allowed dessert. I don't want to hear about chocolate or ice cream again.'

The little girl pouted, but eventually settled on banana waffles. Rose, after some consideration, ordered the BLT. However, Scorpius had difficulty trying to choose something that sounded appealing. He wasn't hungry at all, but decided that he had to order _something_, and so he asked for the lightest sandwich and the smallest coffee on the menu.

Rose made small talk while they waited for their food to arrive, and Celestia scribbled away messily with the crayons and colouring page she'd been given by a waitress. When their food was placed in front of them, Celestia dug right in, while Scorpius and Rose chewed their meals slowly.

'Say something to her,' Rose said quietly to Scorpius, nudging his leg under the table.

'Like what?' Scorpius asked.

'Hey, sweetie?' Rose spoke up, and Celestia gazed up at her, munching away at her waffles. 'Why don't you tell Scorpius what story we were reading together on Friday?'

'Um,' Celestia said. 'One with lotsa animals.'

'Oh, yeah?' Scorpius said, although he had no idea how the fuck to respond to that. Rose nodded encouragingly at him and he asked, 'You like animals?'

This was going so smoothly.

Celestia nodded enthusiastically, her golden ponytail bouncing up and down as she did so.

'Which one is your favourite?' Scorpius asked.

The little girl didn't answer immediately, and instead just sat and stared at Scorpius. He felt uncomfortable until he realised that she was trying to decide which animal she liked best. Finally, she said, 'Um, the girl lion. Or the _liliphant_.'

'Have you ever seen a real lion or elephant?'

Celestia shook her head.

'Maybe we could go to the zoo sometime this week,' Rose piped up, looking towards Scorpius, who swallowed. 'What do you think, Celestia? Do you want to go to the zoo?'

'Yeah!' the little girl exclaimed. 'Will there be lotsa animals like in my book?'

'Yes,' said Rose, 'lions and elephants and birds and monkeys and zebras.'

Now Scorpius _had _to make sure he got time off work.


	5. Day One

**AN: Sorry for the wait, chickens! Thanks for sticking around! And thank you for all the follows, favourites and reviews you've all given me so far. I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

'Mummy! Look!' the little girl cried happily, stretching her pudgy arm out to point at the elephants. Celestia pressed her body against the fence as she watched the giant creatures ambling around their enclosure happily. Rose closely followed her daughter's trail, leading an apathetic Scorpius behind her. The three hadn't been at the zoo for very long at all—perhaps twenty minutes?—and already, Scorpius was preoccupied with thoughts of work. His most recent case wasn't going to solve itself, after all.

After the awkward lunch that they had had yesterday, Scorpius had gone home and thought long and hard about whether or not he should take time off work and he decided, after some consideration, that he did not owe it to Rose to spend the week with her and Celestia. Not only had she showed up after three years of no contact to spring this life-changing news on him, but she had expected him to come to terms with it immediately. And in fact, Scorpius thought that he had handled it rather well so far. So, he came to the conclusion that he would not take time off work.

Oh, but … Rose would never forgive him if he didn't. She would only be there for the week, and then she was leaving—maybe forever. Scorpius had missed her so much over the past three years that the thought of her going home so soon made his insides lurch. Perhaps if he endured the week and got to know this little girl, he would be able to see her again soon.

After weighing his options for some time, Scorpius settled it: he _would_ take time off work, but not the whole week. Two days—three at most—seemed like an appropriate compromise. Besides, Rose couldn't be angry at Scorpius if he had asked for the whole week off and his boss only granted him a few days. So, before dinner, Scorpius called Mr Wright and asked for time off on the grounds that he had come down with a cold and would need some time to recover from it. He held his nose as he spoke.

'Are you sure you won't need the whole week off?' Mr Wright asked. 'You do sound rather poorly.'

'I don't want to miss too much,' Scorpius told him, pausing his sentence to fake a sneeze. 'Excuse me. I should be better in a few days, but if I'm not, I'll let you know.'

And so Mr Wright had given him three days off of work, wished him well, and they had hung up. And now, standing at the elephant enclosure on this twenty-six degree day with his ex-girlfriend and estranged—not to mention over-enthusiastic—daughter, Scorpius rather regretted his decision.

'Isn't that something?' Rose smiled and crouched down beside the little girl. 'Look, Celestia, there's a baby over there!'

Celestia's eyes widened as she spotted the baby elephant, only a bit taller than the child herself, and she clutched onto the fence with her fingers. 'Wow!' she exclaimed, and whirled her head around to face Scorpius. 'Look, Sorpus! A baby liliphant!'

Scorpius raised his eyebrows and nodded, slipping his hands into his trouser pockets. Celestia turned back around to watch the elephants again.

'How would you like to watch the elephant show?' Rose asked Celestia, who just about jumped up and down in excitement at the question. 'Scorpius, would you check when the next show is on, please?'

Scorpius dragged himself over to the timetable like a moody teenager, and scanned it for the time closest to that of the present time. He looked down at his watch and called to Rose, 'Three minutes.'

'Great,' Rose said, standing up. 'Honey, why don't you go and sit down? Over there, see? Mummy will be there in a minute.'

Celestia skipped over and sat in the very front row of the seated area, swinging her legs energetically. Rose approached Scorpius, who was still standing by the sign with his hands in his pockets. He looked bored.

'Are you okay?' she asked.

'Mm,' Scorpius replied, 'great. Couldn't be better.'

Rose gave him a scowl but dismissed it quickly, instead smiling sweetly up at him. 'Listen, thank you so much for doing this, Scorpius. I know you're busy with work, and I appreciate you taking time off.' She waltzed over to join Celestia in the audience. Scorpius sighed, dropping his head back, and went over to join them.

The show lasted a whole ten minutes and involved the elephants doing things like dancing, playing tambourines and maracas, and creating simple art with chalk and paint. And sure it was cute, but Scorpius found himself fighting the urge to pull out his phone and check his emails more than once. Celestia giggled and clapped as the elephants did their routines, and when the show finished and the elephants gave their bows, she insisted on staying back to pet them. Scorpius tried not to groan or roll his eyes.

When they _finally_ got away from the elephant enclosure, Rose, noticing Scorpius' evident boredom, suggested that they take a break for lunch. Scorpius led them to a little eatery near the zoo entrance, which was the only one he had noticed since they had come in. The inside was rather cheap-looking, and there were speakers on the roof that played animal sounds, and the cashiers wore animal hats made from card, but it wasn't as if Scorpius came to the zoo that often; he hadn't any idea where the nicest restaurants were. Besides, Celestia wasn't old enough to know the difference between the food here and the food elsewhere. Scorpius was sure she'd be happy if this place served nuggets or ice cream.

He was right, too. Celestia chowed down on her meal—chips and nuggets, after quite some time nagging her mother—and sipped from her juice box, and when she was finished, Scorpius bought her a big, chocolate ice cream. It would keep her busy for a while, he thought, and she seemed rather happily as she licked it leisurely. She didn't seem at all bothered by the fact that it was dripping down the cone and onto her hand.

At last, Rose decided that it was time to call it a day. They had been around the entire zoo, stayed at the penguins for a whole ten minutes, hurried through the nocturnal house because Celestia didn't like the bats, and gone back to the elephants once more. Scorpius was relieved when the little girl began to slow down, and finally asked if they could go home.

She fell asleep in her Rose's arms as she carried her to Scorpius' car, and carefully placed her in the booster seat while Scorpius waited in the driver's seat. The redhead closed the back door gently and climbed into the front passenger seat, and they set off out of the city.

'How many days did you say you got off work?' Rose asked as they drove onto the freeway.

Scorpius glanced over his shoulder for oncoming cars and indicated before changing lanes. 'Three,' he said.

'We should make a plan,' Rose said, looking out her window at the river. 'What are we going to do over the next two days?'

Scorpius shrugged. 'What do you suppose would be good?'

'I don't know what there is to do around here, Scorpius.'

'Well, I don't know what she likes.'

Rose rolled her eyes. 'Can you please just _try_ and think of something? Somewhere to go for dinner, or … oh, what are those places called? The ones with all the fish? Aquariums, that's right! Look, I don't expect you to plan the entire day, a few hours will be enough.'

Scorpius sighed deeply. 'Fine,' he said. 'We'll go to the aquarium tomorrow, alright? And there's an animal farm about a half hour's drive from my place, we can go there on Wednesday. I'll take you both out to dinner on Wednesday night, too. Okay?'

Rose offered Scorpius a smile, but his eyes were fixed on the road, so she turned her head to look at her daughter. Celestia was snoozing away in her booster seat, her plump lips parted, her sun-coloured braid falling over her shoulder.

'Thank you, Scorp.'


	6. Day Two

**AN: Quick question before the chapter! One of my readers has mentioned that the summary of this story is off-putting, and I was wondering if you guys think I should modify it so that it gives more information about the story? If enough of you think so, I'll gladly change it!**

**Thank you all for your reviews, follows and favourites! As usual, I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

Rose and Celestia's second day out in Muggle London was similar to the first. A little before noon, Scorpius made his way over to Wynona's Inn to pick up Rose and Celestia, who were waiting for him in the poorly furnished lobby. Rose was sitting in a dusty armchair, forest green in colour, and the little girl was sitting at her mother's feet, making her hands talk to each other in silly voices. When she saw Scorpius enter the inn, she leapt up and galloped out the door to the car without acknowledging him.

As the traffic was light, it took around half an hour for Scorpius to reach the aquarium and while he paid for their entry, Celestia bounded about the foyer chanting 'Fishies! Fishies!' He wondered if all children this age were always so excitable.

But perhaps the little girl had created too much hype over the aquarium, because she seemed to grow bored of it rather quickly. In the first room, she ogled in wonder at the sea creatures, but as they continued through each section her concentration seemed to wane. She must have thought that these particular fish would be more exciting than those in the Wizarding World. Poor sucker, Scorpius thought.

'This is boring,' Celestia whined as they entered the fourth room, which was set up with small tanks embedded in the walls that housed numerous creatures, each species confined to its own tank. Scorpius didn't know whether he agreed with her or whether he should be offended by her comment. It _was_ rather boring. Much like their day at the zoo, he found himself wondering about work.

'Celestia!' Rose scolded. The little girl pouted but did not complain again.

They walked through a few more rooms, Rose practically dragging Celestia by the arm, before they came to a walk-through underwater passageway—a transparent tunnel with a moving conveyor belt for a floor. On the other side of the tunnel were hundreds of different types of fish and marine plants. 'Look, Celestia,' Scorpius urged gently, gesturing towards the tunnel.

'Wow!' the little girl cried and she ran forward, her eyes lighting up like stars as she gazed up at the creatures as the glided past her. Rose scooped Celestia into her arms and stepped onto the conveyor belt, which edged along slowly. The two of them stared as fish and sharks and stingrays and turtles floated above them, both as fascinated as each other. Scorpius chuckled as he stepped onto the conveyor belt, his eyes fixed on the girls.

Rose turned to check where Scorpius was and beckoned him close, shifting Celestia onto the other side of her torso so that she could lean in close to the blond. For a second, Scorpius thought she might be going to rest her head against his chest, but she simply pointed forward and asked, 'What're those ones called again?' Her voice was quiet, conscious of the Muggles in earshot.

Scorpius looked to where she was pointing. 'Stingrays,' he smiled.

'It looks like a grey pancake,' Celestia giggled, causing her parents to grin.

'This is beautiful, Scorp,' Rose said.

There it was again. _Scorp_. No one had called him that in three years; or, more importantly, _Rose_ hadn't called him that in three years. It sounded lovely rolling off the redhead's tongue, like a pleasant birdsong. Scorpius smiled warmly down at Rose. Her blue eyes twinkled in the dim light of the tunnel, and he felt his breath catch in his throat. 'Yeah,' he said, his voice close to a whisper. 'It is beautiful.'

Rose looked up at him and smiled gently. In her arms, Celestia gasped. 'Mummy, look at that one! Sorpus, look!' She pointed at a large shark that was swimming overhead, its body swishing from side to side.

'That one's called a _shark_,' Rose explained deliberately, looking very pleased at her knowledge.

Celestia frowned. 'He looks mean.'

'He's just misunderstood,' Scorpius joked lamely, making Rose giggle.

'Oh—look out,' the redhead warned Scorpius, pointing behind him. He turned around to see that they had reached the end of the tunnel, and stepped back onto the unmoving carpet of the aquarium. Rose followed suit. 'Did you like that, Celestia?' she asked as she put the young girl down.

'Yeah!' she replied excitedly. 'It was pretty.'

'Here's something else you might like,' Scorpius said as they followed the passage that led outside. As they walked out the glass doors, Scorpius gestured ahead to a round touch pool positioned in the middle of the outdoor area. The pool was surrounded by dozens of young children, tentatively putting their hands into the water as their parents supervised. 'The touch pool. You can see what the starfish and the stingrays and the fish feel like.'

'Can I, Mummy?' Celestia asked.

'Of course,' Rose smiled. 'Scorpius, could you…? I don't know how…'

Scorpius bobbed his head and led Celestia to the edge of the touch pool. He helped her climb up onto the side so that she could see into the water, and she gazed in awe at the colourful stars that rested on the floor of the pool. Small fish darted around, dodging sticky children's hands, and the stingrays hovered around leisurely. Scorpius dipped his hand into the water carefully, showing Celestia what to do. As he pulled his hand out, a stingray drifted over in their direction.

'Here, it wants you to pet it, see?' Scorpius gestured towards the stingray. 'You must be very gentle, though.'

Following his instructions, Celestia slowly lowered her hand beneath the surface and reached out for the stingray. At seeing her stretch out for it, it began to swim away, but she managed to glide her tubby fingers over its top. She giggled as she drew her hand back and wiped it on her lavender shirt. 'It feels slimy,' she remarked, and turned around to Rose. 'Mummy, come try!'

Rose uncrossed her arms and walked forward to sit on the edge of the touch pool. She looked into the water with uncertainty, unsure of what to do, and Celestia was more than happy to demonstrate. Rose smiled at her matter-of-fact tone as she bossed her mother about, but did as she was told, reaching into the water and touching a stingray to appease the little girl.

'Dunnit feel slimy, Mummy?'

'It sure does,' Rose said, withdrawing her hand from the pool and shaking it dry as she rose to her feet. Scorpius stood up too, and—with some difficulty—they coaxed Celestia away from the pool.

**X**

'That was so cool!' Celestia gushed as they headed back to the car. After visiting the aquarium, they had taken a short walk and sat at a picnic table above the beach so that Celestia could eat the lunch that Rose had packed for her—a cucumber and cheese sandwich, apple slices and a Chocolate Frog. 'Can we go back tomorrow?'

'No, honey,' Rose said, 'we're doing something else tomorrow.'

'What?' Celestia asked. Rose turned to Scorpius for an explanation. He raised his eyebrows at the little girl.

'It's a surprise,' he said.

Celestia's mouth fell into an 'o' shape as she looked up at the blond, and after a moment she said, 'Last one to the car is a big loser!' and darted off towards the pearly white Lexus. Scorpius grinned as he broke into a jog to catch up to her.

'What are you doing?' called Rose, who followed them at her own pace.

Scorpius turned around—but did not stop jogging—to face the redhead. 'Didn't you hear? Last one to get to the car is a _big loser_!' He turned back around, his long legs catching up to the little girl quickly. Her giggles filled the parking lot as he chased after her.

Scorpius unlocked the car and sat down in the driver's seat, and Celestia clambered into her booster seat. 'Mummy lost!' she grinned. When Rose reached the car, she fastened Celestia into her seat and climbed into the front passenger seat. As she pulled on her seatbelt she noticed that Scorpius was watching her with a mischievous grin on his face.

'What?' she asked.

'Loser,' he said.


End file.
